E.J. Montini began writing news columns for The Arizona Republic shortly before the first governor in state history was impeached, continued doing so as another governor was indicted and resigned, and has carried on over 25 years through out-of-control urban sprawl, unchecked illegal immigration, increasing daily temperatures, decreasing rainfall and recession. Coincidence?

The sweet smell of a small town

The whole time I was speaking with Rachelle Skvarek I could hear other phones at her business ringing in the background. The calls were answered by associates who took orders quickly and hung up, only to have the phones ring again.

â€śThis is something none of us could have imagined,â€ť Rachelle told me. â€śHonestly, we have been able to get the work done only through the graciousness of people who have volunteered to help us.â€ť

Rachelle operates Prescott Flower Shop.

â€śLast week we had a retired owner of a flower shop come in and help us,â€ť she told me. â€śWe had another woman from the Valley who came up to volunteer. Mountain High Flowers in Sedona gathered up as many flowers as they could for last weekâ€™s memorial service and drove them down to us. We have several young women who are floral designers from the Valley come up and help to get everything ready for Tuesdayâ€™s memorial. The wholesalers down in Phoenix also have been wonderful, offering discounts and trying to get us what we need. Â Theyâ€™ve driven orders to us on their days off. But, honestly, itâ€™s kind of overwhelming.â€ť

A small-town flower shop is where people go to celebrate and to mourn.

But usually in small doses.

A wedding here. A funeral there.

There are busy periods, of course. Valentineâ€™s Day. Motherâ€™s Day.

In a town like Prescott, a flower shop is where neighbors find out about neighbors.

Nothing prepared them for a time when 19 neighbors died as once.

â€śEven though we may not have known directly any of the firefighters who were killed, we all know someone who knew them,â€ť Rachelle said. â€śAll the little things that people go through. Birthdays. Proms. Weddings. Some of them probably stopped by at some point and I didnâ€™t even know it. Now, we have the widows coming by and ordering flowers. Thatâ€™s just really difficult. Itâ€™s very personal. We all want to be there to support them and their babies and families.â€ť

In 1986 I was sent by The Arizona Republic to Edmond, Okla., where a disgruntled postal worker had gone on a rampage, killing 14 people. Driving into town I stopped at Edmond Flower Shop, hoping to purchase a small bouquet to place at the makeshift memorial outside the local post office.

The flower shop was bare.

“I’m sorry,” owner Jim Burdick told me, “but we’re temporarily out.”

It was that way for a week.

Rachelle told me the flowers are going out of her Prescott shop just about as soon as they come in.

â€śFlowers help people heal,â€ť she said. â€śPeople want to do something. Itâ€™s their way to show support. Out at the hotshotsâ€™ station, where I have delivered some arrangements out there, it is just amazing. The notes. The crosses. The bandanas. The flowers. Not just from people in town but from people all over.â€ť

I decided to contact Rachelle after getting a call from another Prescott resident. Heâ€™d been to an earlier memorial service and to the make-shift memorial for the hotshots.

â€śItâ€™s like spring in a way,â€ť he told me. â€śAll the flowers. The smells.â€ť

Tuesdayâ€™s big memorial service isnâ€™t the end of it for florists in and around Prescott.

â€śI know of several funerals on Wednesday,â€ť Rachelle told me. â€śAnd more on Thursday. And there are some not even set yet. Itâ€™s shouldnâ€™t be that way for young guys with young families. And for so many of them. Itâ€™s awful. We all just have to do what we can do, though, I guess.â€ť

The phones were ringing in the background.

I let her get back to work.

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